Cooking at home: Enchiladas

As I said before, I love Tex-Mex. It’s one of my favorite types of food. While there are several great places in Prague to indulge in tacos, burritos, and margaritas, sometimes there’s nothing better than whipping up some good ol’ Tex-Mex at home.

This was the first time I’ve ever made enchiladas here. Sure, I’ve done tacos, nachos, quesadillas, fajitas, but never enchiladas --- until now.

First, let's start with the ingredients:

As you can see, I use a mix of high/low ingredients. There are some things I just can't live without (Cholula hot sauce), and others where the store brand is just as good (Albert taco sauce). I didn't make an enchilada "sauce" per se, instead I mixed the taco sauce with the M&S roasted pepper salsa (amazing).

Cheeses are also something that, unless you go to a specialty shop, you have a limited selection to choose from. I am not afraid of using shredded Edam (I'm not!) especially when I'm mixing it with another cheese. Since I didn't have time to get to another shop, I just bought Cheddar from the market.

First, I start by cooking the meat. I used some ground pork that we had, but any meat (or none if you're vegetarian) will do. I seasoned it with some salt, pepper, ground cumin (brought to me from Turkey via an awesome friend), and chili. Don't be afraid to use the pre-made seasoning packets though, I use them as well and they do just fine.

While the meat is cooking, I prep all the vegetables. I'm very pro multi-tasking in the kitchen.

When the meat is almost finished, I add in the black beans and some more spices. Once that's done I remove it from the pan and add the vegetables and minced garlic, with just a bit of oil.

I cook them until they are soft and slightly browned, then set them aside.

Now it's time to assemble! Take a casserole dish (or any oven-safe baking dish), and spread some of the salsa mix on the bottom. Then take one tortilla, fill it with some of the meat mix, the vegetable mix, and the salsa mix. Roll it up, and place it seam side down in the dish. Repeat this until you've filled the baking dish (I made four rolls, but if you have a larger dish you can always make more).

Once this is finished, top with the rest of the salsa mix and finish with all of the yummy cheese (I used a combination of shredded Edam and Cheddar).

Cover the dish loosely with tin foil, and bake in the oven at 170° C for about 20-25 minutes, then remove foil and bake for another 10-12 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

I topped mine with sour cream and Cholula, and Spanish rice on the side, but you could make salad, or just eat them alone (they're big enough)!

And if you miraculously have leftovers, it makes a great lunch for the next day.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Can You Stay For Dinner

Serves 4 (or 2 with leftovers if you live with my boyfriend)

Ingredients

250g ground pork (or any ground meat)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2-3 peppers (any color), thinly sliced

1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced

4 plain tortillas

1 jar M&S roasted pepper salsa

1 jar Taco sauce

1 package (100g) shredded Edam cheese

1/2 block (100g) shredded Cheddar cheese

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp ground cumin

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 170° C

Heat a large skillet over medium/medium-high heat. Add a small amount of oil (depending on type of pan). Add meat to skillet and break apart with fork or wooden spoon (no metal on Teflon!)

When meat is slightly browned, add cumin, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Once meat is almost finished, add black beans and continue to cook for 5 minutes or until beans are warmed and incorporated. Remove this mixture from skillet and set aside.

In same skillet, add a bit more oil and heat again. Then add peppers and onions. Cook until soft and slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Then add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Turn off stove and set vegetable mix aside.

Take baking dish or pan and add 1/4 of the salsa mix, spreading across the bottom of the dish. Then take 1 tortilla, fill it with meat mixture, vegetable mixture, and 1-2 tbsps of salsa mix. Roll up tortilla and place seam side down in the dish.

Repeat this step with other 3 tortillas.

Top with remaining salsa mix, and spread to evenly coat. Then sprinkle cheese mix evenly across all enchiladas.

Cover loosely with tin foil, and place in oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove foil, and continue to bake for another 10-12 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Top with sour cream, hot sauce, or anything else you may like. Serve with Spanish rice.

I hope you're hungry

So let's start things off by making everyone hungry, if you're not already.

I've done a lot of cooking and baking during my time in Prague, and here are just a few photos of the many meals I've whipped up. Recipes to follow later, for now, just try not to drool on the keyboard.

I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the photos. Most were taken with a (bad) camera phone, but I promise future photos will be much nicer!

Eggs Benedict. The brunch meal of champions. I've made this too many times to count, as my friends will attest to. Although it's traditionally made with Canadian bacon (basically ham), I mix it up and use either English bacon, smoked salmon, or tomatoes for my vegetarian friends. The Hollandaise sauce is not made from scratch, because who has that kind of time on a Sunday morning when all you want to do is drink mimosas and relax? The secret: I import Hollandaise sauce packets from the US. I know, I cheat!!! But it's  still amazing, trust me.

Good, old-fashioned apple pie. Who doesn't love it? This was actually made for our Thanksgiving dinner, from scratch (including the dough)! What can I say, for some things I just don't cut corners. I've made it a few times since, it's a nice departure from the Apple Strudel which is served in many places here.

You will find out quickly there are certain types of foods I can't get enough of, and Tex-Mex is one of them. I'm pretty much in love with anything I can smother in salsa, guacamole, and sour cream. These are my beef nachos, with baked tortilla chips and homemade pico de gallo and guacamole. This usually gets made at LEAST once every two weeks, if not more often.

Mmmm burgers. I cannot take credit for making these, as one of my friends actually did. But oh man, these were probably the best burgers I've ever had. It was juicy, flavorful, and ENORMOUS. We do our "burgin'" quite often, so be prepared for more burger goodness.

Sweet and succulent chocolate cake. I love chocolate, especially dark, and this cake is just that. A dark, moist, cakey center with dark chocolate ganache frosting. It's highly recommended that you do not engage in physical activity for at least 30 minutes after you eat a piece.

So that's just a few samples of my baking and dining-in meals, don't worry, we'll get to the restaurants soon too. In fact I'll be going to two this weekend, one I have never been to, and one that is an old favorite, so check back for those reviews next week!